In the news today: As the nation neared another Republican-demanded debt cliff, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell announced his party would begrudgingly accept a temporary debt ceiling extension to put the fight off until December. The House special committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection recently issued its first subpoenas; now it’s following up by threatening swift criminal referrals for four Trump loyalists attempting to defy, on Trump’s alleged orders, those subpoenas. Elsewhere in Republicanism, top party figures defended the rights of angry conspiracy theory-believing mobs threatening school boards, so this handbasket we’re all in continues scraping toward its destination according to schedule.

Here’s some of what you may have missed: